Today In Issues:
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Israel prepared to keep striking Iran for 'weeks to come', military spokesperson says Hamas urges Hezbollah to kidnap Israeli soldiers in wake of Knesset passing death penalty bill Trump says U.S. will be out of Iran within two to three weeks Iran warns of death penalty, asset seizures for spying, aiding enemies Iran using children in security roles in war, reports and witnesses say WSJ Editorial: Trump and the Hormuz stakes Zelenskiy says he will ask US to relay Easter energy truce offer to Russia Bloomberg’s Marc Champion: Ukraine is having a surprisingly good Iran war American journalist Shelly Kittleson kidnapped in Baghdad U.A.E. wants to force Hormuz open and is willing to join the fight WSJ Editorial: China keeps trying to punish Tokyo Argentina designates Iran's IRGC a terrorist organization, aligning with USIn The News
Israel
Israel’s defense minister outlined plans on Tuesday to occupy much of southern Lebanon, offering his clearest indication yet that Israel intends to control the region even after its ground invasion ends. – New York Times
Israel is prepared for “weeks” more of fighting in Iran, a military spokesman said on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in an interview the war was “beyond the halfway point.” – Reuters
Palestinians in the occupied West Bank voiced fears on Tuesday that their jailed relatives could be hanged without due process after Israel adopted a new law making the death penalty the default sentence for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks. – Reuters
Israel’s Prime Minister said that Arab Gulf states are “encouraging” the U.S. to accelerate its attacks against Iran as a nuclear armed Iran regime would be “the end” of them. In an interview with Newsmax Mr. Netanyahu said the Gulf states realized they “shouldn’t succumb” to Iran’s blackmail as they would end up in “a much worse place when they (Iran) develop nuclear weapons. – New York Sun
Israel will stop all defense procurement from France, as it accuses Paris of a hostile stance toward it. Director General of the Israeli Ministry of Defense Maj. Gen. Amir Baram made the announcement on Channel 12 News Tuesday, adding the decision was part of a broader effort to reduce cooperation with countries that take steps against Israel. – Politico
Sixteen people, including multiple children, were wounded by fragments that impacted in central Israel after Iran launched cluster munitions on Wednesday morning. – Jerusalem Post
Of the IDF’s critical and essential pre-war Iran targets, 100% will have been destroyed by Wednesday, the military said on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Israel has severely weakened the Iranian regime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in pre-recorded public address on Tuesday night. – Jerusalem Post
Israeli industry groups urged aviation and security authorities on Tuesday to reserve part of the limited outbound flight capacity at Ben-Gurion Airport for business delegations, warning that the wartime restrictions are disrupting exports, investment ties, and the ability of Israeli companies to operate normally in global markets. – Jerusalem Post
A Hamas spokesperson called on Hezbollah terrorists to “intensify their efforts” to kidnap Israeli soldiers in Lebanon on Tuesday, saying it was in order to “liberate” Palestinian and Arab prisoners following the Knesset’s passing of the death penalty bill. – Jerusalem Post
Hezbollah fired over 50 rockets and drones towards the Upper Galilee on Tuesday evening. Magen David Adom reported that a piece of shrapnel impacted near a house on a kibbutz. – Jerusalem Post
Oshrit Birvadker writes: Critics may choose to remain in the dark, closing their eyes to these milestones and labeling Israel as the “neighborhood bully.” This epithet signifies a significant perceptual victory, restoring Israeli deterrence to its full strength. Israel has transcended the fear of regional bullies and rejected the role of the victim. We are actively stripping away the power of those who seek our destruction. The Israeli spirit is forged by survivors and sustained by warriors, but its true essence is that of a resolute nation of victors. – Jerusalem Post
Iran
President Trump told aides he’s willing to end the U.S. military campaign against Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed, administration officials said, likely extending Tehran’s firm grip on the waterway and leaving a complex operation to reopen it for a later date. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump declared on Tuesday that he had already achieved one of the primary objectives of his attack on Iran, the elimination of its ability to build a nuclear weapon. But there is no evidence that the United States or Israel has removed or destroyed the country’s stockpile of near-bomb-grade fuel. – New York Times
President Trump said on Tuesday that the United States would wrap up its military campaign in Iran in two or three weeks, and the White House said he would address the nation about the war on Wednesday evening. – New York Times
People accused of spying or cooperating with “hostile states” could face the death penalty and confiscation of all assets under a recently enhanced law, an Iranian judiciary spokesperson said, a month into the war with the United States and Israel. – Reuters
Iran executed two men tied to the People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI), adding to two other men who were executed on Monday, the group said on Tuesday, confirming a report by Iran’s judiciary news outlet. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday Washington could see the “finish line” in the Iran war, which is now in its fifth week, and the U.S. will have to reexamine ties with NATO after the conflict. – Reuters
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in the country but is refraining from making public appearances “for understandable reasons”, the RTVI news outlet quoted Russia’s ambassador to the country as saying on Tuesday. – Reuters
Pope Leo urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to look for an “off-ramp” to end the Iran war, in a rare direct appeal from the pontiff as the regional conflict expands. – Reuters
Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi may have suffered a heart attack, one of her lawyers said Tuesday. – Associated Press
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened Tuesday to target American tech and defense companies operating in the Middle East if the U.S. and Israel continue to target Iranian leadership. – Politico
The death of an 11-year-old Iranian boy reportedly in an air strike while manning a security checkpoint alongside his father in Tehran has thrown focus on a new initiative to recruit children into the security services. – BBC
Iranian media said Tuesday that airstrikes have put a desalination plant on Iran’s Qeshm island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz out of service, though the report did not specify when the attack took place. – Agence France-Presse
A leaked internal directive from the IRGC’s missile command appears to show that the use of civilian locations to conceal, support and in some cases facilitate missile launch operations is not ad hoc, but structured, documented and built into operational planning. – Iran International
Editorial: They certainly do, and perhaps that’s enough to restore the prewar status quo. But Iran will have demonstrated that its ability to threaten the Strait is real, and it could turn to charging a bounty—a fee or a promise not to cooperate with the U.S.—on countries to let their vessels pass. The other issue is what a de facto Iran veto over Gulf shipping will say about the credibility of U.S. deterrence. Ending the war with the Strait closed means Iran’s strategy of imposing economic pain on the West will have been at least a partial success. The best outcome in this war is still regime change, or a defeated Iran that bends to Mr. Trump’s terms that include a plan to reopen the Strait. – Wall Street Journal
William A. Galston writes: The U.S. is in no position, militarily or politically, to mount the kind of all-out invasion of Iran that brought down Saddam Hussein in Iraq. But anything less will probably allow the Iranian regime to survive, which it will trumpet as a victory against the Great Satan. Mr. Trump faces difficult choices. If the war ends with Iran still in control of the strait, the U.S. will have suffered a strategic defeat. But if the limited ground operations that the president is now considering don’t succeed, he may well have to choose between this defeat and escalation, which could lead to something even worse. – Wall Street Journal
David Ignatius writes: A start toward global involvement in a settlement was a proposal released Tuesday by China and Pakistan. It calls for reopening the strait but avoids the U.S.-Israel agenda regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons, missiles and regime change. It would defer these hard issues for the future — and perhaps another round of war. “The world held hostage!” That’s the reality of the Strait of Hormuz blockade. European and Asian hostages may be angry at Trump for getting them into this mess, but that won’t solve the problem. The answer is collective action to cajole or compel the hostage-takers in Tehran to let go. – Washington Post
Neville Teller writes: Meanwhile, accounts have appeared in the media of limited desertions and refusals to obey orders by both the Iranian police and the regular army. These reports, if accurate, could indicate that large-scale anti-government demonstrations or some form of direct attack could lead to a neutralized Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Ergo, defections to the popular cause from within both forces are not out of the question. A military defeat of the Iranian regime, backed by popular support, is perhaps not entirely beyond the bounds of possibility. – Jerusalem Post
Erfan Fard writes: The display of military convoys and the signaling of proxy mobilization can serve as a psychological tool, intended to intimidate opponents and project strength. In this sense, the strategy may be as much about perception as it is about operational reality. In conclusion, the reported movement of Hashd al-Shaabi Shia terrorists toward Iran should be understood within a broader framework of regime survival strategies. By reinforcing its internal security apparatus, testing its proxy networks, and signaling readiness for escalation, the Iranian regime seeks to navigate a period of profound uncertainty. Whether this approach will succeed in stabilizing the system or further destabilize the country remains an open question. What is clear, however, is that such actions carry significant risks-not only for Iran, but for the region as a whole. – Arutz Sheva
Russia and Ukraine
The Russian authorities have deepened their crackdown on popular foreign apps and have begun periodically turning off mobile internet across the country, after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to build up censorship technology that they plan to expand. – New York Times
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he would ask U.S. mediators to pass Kyiv’s offer of an Easter ceasefire for strikes on energy infrastructure to Russia, after the Kremlin said it lacked any detailed proposals. – Reuters
Russia will respond if other countries allow Ukraine to use their airspace to launch drone attacks on Russian Baltic ports, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that U.S. plans to unfurl regime change in Iran and Venezuela were aimed at gaining more control over oil and gas resources. – Reuters
Marc Champion writes: Whether Ukraine could really open Hormuz, how long it can keep its renewed technological edge over a newly funded Russia, and how much its Gulf deals will in fact deliver are all open questions. But the US loss of leverage in Kyiv is clear and should raise questions in the White House. […] Why continue to relieve the pressure on President Vladimir Putin, even when he’s helping Iran to kill US servicemen and Zelenskiy is offering to help protect them? Or, to put it in terms more familiar to President Trump, Ukraine has some surprisingly good cards, so play them. – Bloomberg
Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Tuesday that his country will stay out of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran unless Syria is subject to aggression and has no diplomatic solutions. – Reuters
Explosions were heard in the Syrian capital Damascus as Israeli air defenses intercepted Iranian missiles, Syrian state television reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said during a visit to the UK that his government attempted to normalize relations with Israel “without success,” reported Israeli media on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Iraq
An American journalist has been kidnapped in Baghdad, U.S. and Iraqi authorities said Tuesday. The journalist, identified as Shelly Kittleson by outlets for which she has written, has reported extensively from the Middle East as a freelance contributor to Al-Monitor, Foreign Policy, Politico and the BBC. – Washington Post
Iraq’s state‑owned oil marketer SOMO has finalised contracts to supply about 650,000 metric tons of fuel oil per month from April to June to be trucked overland via Syria, according to a SOMO document seen by Reuters and Iraqi energy officials. – Reuters
A strike on Tuesday in western Iraq killed three fighters from the former paramilitary coalition Hashed Al-Shaabi, the alliance said in a statement, blaming the US and Israel for the attack. – Agence France-Presse
Lebanon
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday, to condemn deadly attacks on U.N. peacekeepers in south Lebanon, with senior U.N. officials and diplomats calling for Israel and Hezbollah to de-escalate. – New York Times
At least seven people were killed and 24 wounded in two Israeli strikes in the Beirut area, the Lebanese health ministry said on Wednesday, in attacks that hit vehicles in Beirut’s southern outskirts and in an area just south of the capital. – Reuters
Lebanon is preparing for the possibility that hundreds of thousands displaced by Israeli strikes and evacuation orders will not return home in the long term, Lebanese social affairs minister Haneen Sayed said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Four IDF soldiers were killed while fighting in Southern Lebanon, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday. – Jerusalem Post
Gulf States
The United Arab Emirates is preparing to help the U.S. and other allies open the Strait of Hormuz by force, Arab officials said, a move that would make it the first Persian Gulf country to become a combatant, after being hit by Iranian attacks. – Wall Street Journal
One month of the American-Israeli war with Iran could plunge four million more people across the Arab world into poverty and shave off up to 6 percent of the region’s economic output during that time, according to projections by the United Nations Development Program. – New York Times
An Iranian drone attack struck fuel tanks at Kuwait International Airport on Wednesday, sparking a massive fire but causing no casualties, Kuwait’s state news agency KUNA said. – Reuters
The State Department said on Tuesday it was monitoring threats to Americans in Saudi Arabia and warned all U.S. citizens in the country to shelter in place. – Reuters
Dubai-based airline Emirates’ website said on Wednesday that Iranian nationals were not allowed to enter or transit the United Arab Emirates. The website of another carrier, Flydubai, said Iranian nationals holding a UAE “Golden Visa” were exempt and permitted to enter and transit the country. – Reuters
Dozens of money changers linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards were arrested in the United Arab Emirates after tensions rose following attacks by the Islamic Republic, sources familiar with the matter told Iran International. – Iran International
Lionel Laurent writes: Dubai’s supporters make the point that global capital has few other places to go, especially as London increases taxes and gets more squeamish about where the money comes from. The UAE-or-bust lobby is mistaken, however. International capital could find a home in the old-world hubs of Geneva and Milan, even if Europe has its own wartime challenges. Hong Kong’s appeal is returning despite China’s national-security law. “People say that these places are boring, but boring is the new sexy,” one financier told Bloomberg News recently. In this new era of insecurity, it’s hard to disagree. – Bloomberg
Rich Lowry writes: That’d be over-stating it, though. Despite getting hit by Iran, Oman is maintaining its traditional posture as a mediator and Qatar is always a bad actor. Much depends on how the war turns out, but it’s easy to see the Gulf states looking to the United States for greater security guarantees. They may warm up further to Israel, which is demonstrating its military might as it confronts an Iran that has no compunction about lashing out at states that are doing it no harm. It may be easy for hostile US observers to portray the Iran war as about Israel and only Israel. But the Gulf states know better — and have the battle damage to prove it. – New York Post
Middle East & North Africa
In downtown Cairo, where cafes usually spill onto pavements late into the night and traffic hums until the early hours, the streets are emptying earlier than usual. – Reuters
Spanish police have discovered a drug-smuggling tunnel in the North African exclave of Ceuta, complete with a rail system and underground cranes to transport hashish from Morocco into Spain. – Reuters
A Tunisian court handed down a two-year prison sentence to news website editor Ghassen Ben Khelifa, in the latest prosecution targeting media workers, a move the journalists’ union described as part of a “systemic” attack on free speech. – Reuters
Whether these attacks — all successfully intercepted — marked a symbolic show of support for Iran or the opening of a new front in the war remains unclear. As Washington’s ceasefire talks with Iran continue, the Houthis themselves are likely still calibrating. – Times of Israel
Ofir Winter writes: A promising first step in this direction is the recent government move to revitalize the “Jordan Gateway” Industrial and Employment Park. This decision, perhaps a quiet recognition of Jordan’s pivotal role in countering Iranian regional threats during the war, offers Israel a chance to prove its vision extends far beyond military deterrence. It demonstrates that trust forged in strategic and security cooperation can, and should, serve as the foundation for broader civilian and economic initiatives. A peace held together only by the weight of arms is inherently fragile. A strong, lasting peace requires shared regional strategic vision, mutual reliance, and recognition that our neighbor’s stability is, in fact, our own. – Jerusalem Post
Amine Ayoub writes: The Sinai Peninsula-already a long-standing security concern-could become even more porous. Transnational militancy does not respect borders; an imploding Egypt on Israel’s southern flank would represent a new and volatile threat. Sisi’s balancing act has no safety net. He must placate international creditors demanding fiscal discipline, manage the impatience of Gulf benefactors tired of repeated rescues, and contain the frustration of 110 million Egyptians squeezed by inflation and scarcity-all while Egypt’s historic role as regional power broker is eclipsed. The military remains the ultimate guarantor of regime survival, but its resources are finite and its domestic legitimacy tied to economic performance. – Arutz Sheva
Sabina Henneberg writes: Additionally, U.S. policymakers should persist in the quiet but important work of advancing a diplomatic resolution to the Western Sahara dispute. Bringing all parties to the table was significant, as was persuading Morocco to submit an enhanced autonomy plan to serve as a basis for negotiations. Yet Rabat’s renewed push for U.S. sanctions on the Polisario Front suggests that it sees the Iran war as an opportunity to consolidate the Trump administration’s December 2020 recognition of its sovereignty over Western Sahara. And even before the war, progress on overcoming key roadblocks was reportedly limited. Accordingly, Washington may need a mix of bigger carrots and bigger sticks—as well as sustained engagement—to change this dynamic. – Washington Institute
Korean Peninsula
Hackers linked to North Korea breached behind-the-scenes software that runs many common online functions in an effort to steal login information that could enable further cyber operations, Google said on Tuesday. – Reuters
South Korea’s factory activity expanded at the strongest pace in more than four years in March, led by semiconductor demand and new product launches, even as the Middle East war dragged on overseas orders, a private-sector survey showed on Wednesday. – Reuters
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks in Seoul on Wednesday with Indonesian leader Prabowo Subianto, where they agreed to expand cooperation on critical minerals, technology, and clean energy, Seoul’s presidential Blue House said. – Reuters
Two of the world’s most pro-Russian dictators, from opposite sides of the Russian land mass, have hugged and clasped hands in common cause with Moscow as it wages war on Ukraine. North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, hosting Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko in Pyongyang, predicted “many things beneficial to promoting the prosperity” of both countries. – New York Sun
China
A private gauge of China’s manufacturing activity eased from a five-year high in March, though it stayed in expansionary territory amid rising price and supply pressures. – Wall Street Journal
It’s easy to be a China hawk; the script essentially writes itself. It’s even easier to be a China dove, clinging to the ghosts of a globalization that no longer exists. But it’s much harder to be a realist—to look at America’s biggest strategic competitor and seek a stable middle ground. – Wall Street Journal
China and Pakistan on Tuesday called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gulf and the wider Middle East, urging the swift launch of peace talks and the restoration of normal navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, as their foreign ministers met in Beijing. – Reuters
China on Tuesday welcomed a visit by a delegation of European Union lawmakers – the first in eight years – as a chance to further stabilise ties strained by trade policies and political mistrust. – Reuters
China is poised to extend its ban on refined fuel exports into April, five industry sources with knowledge of the matter said, though exemptions could be applied to small volumes bound for countries in the region that have requested help. – Reuters
South Asia
A day before Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, the Indian‑flagged LPG tanker Pine Gas loaded cargo at the United Arab Emirates’ Ruwais port, hoping to reach home within a week. – Reuters
Eutelsat, Europe’s main rival to Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider Starlink, is in talks with India’s space agency about future satellite launches as it seeks to diversify beyond SpaceX and Europe’s Ariane rockets. – Reuters
Bangladesh is considering introducing partial online classes in schools as part of austerity measures to ease pressure from the global energy crisis and domestic constraints. – Reuters
Mihir Sharma writes: This has happened in South Asia before. In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to power claiming to be an outsider, after years of protest against a supposedly corrupt government in New Delhi. If he wanted to transform the country, as he pledged, he could have used that energy to reinvent how government works — for example, by replacing the coddled bureaucracy that independent India inherited from the British to make it more accountable. But administrative reform was way down his list of priorities and, as a consequence, his government has never quite lived up to its initial promise. Too little has changed in how the Indian state operates. The subcontinent’s insurgents will realize that winning power is easy. What’s hard is wielding it without becoming what they replaced. – Bloomberg
Don Aviv and Jeremy Hurewitz write: Field Marshall Asim Munir had a two-hour lunch with Trump in June and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is on the Gaza Board of Peace and met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month. This has led to recently signed memoranda of understanding outlining cooperation on digital currency and mining for critical minerals. As the world watches oil, gas and fertilizer prices skyrocket, wondering when global trade in these critical commodities will resume, the war continues and the fallout cascades, with implications for countries near and far from the violence. Pakistan is one of many places deeply affected, and one that might see its future changed drastically as a result. – The Hill
Asia
Malaysia has secured assurances from Iran that its vessels will be granted safe and toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s transport minister said. – Wall Street Journal
For the last few months, a plan by President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan to increase military spending by $40 billion over eight years has been held up by his political rivals. – New York Times
Japan and Indonesia have agreed to step up coordination on energy security, Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Tuesday, as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran squeezes oil and gas supplies vital to Asia. – Reuters
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and French President Emmanuel Macron will agree to create a roadmap for diversifying supplies of rare earths and other critical minerals, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday. – Reuters
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese warned the economic shocks of the war in the Middle East would be felt for months and encouraged citizens to take public transport in a rare address to the nation on Wednesday. – Reuters
Indonesia has called on the United Nations to conduct an investigation into the deaths of three of its UNIFIL peacekeepers following Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, a foreign ministry official said in a statement published on Wednesday. – Reuters
Editorial: So far Ms. Takaichi is standing firm, and Mr. Furuya has shrugged off sanctions by saying he didn’t plan to visit China anyway. All indications point to a growing consensus in Tokyo that Chinese aggression is a major threat in the region. […] President Trump could help Ms. Takaichi by rethinking his tariffs on Japanese exports, in order to relieve the economic stress on an ally. Especially reassuring to Japan—and noted by Beijing—would be for Mr. Trump to add a stop in Tokyo before his planned visit to China later this spring. – Wall Street Journal
Patrick M. Cronin writes: Deterrence is no longer a slow-moving, bilateral system. It is a fast, interconnected, multi-actor environment shaped by nuclear modernization, technological disruption, and shifting political commitments. The greatest danger is not that deterrence collapses outright, but that it fails in ways we do not anticipate. A misinterpreted signal. A limited strike. A decision made too quickly. The Davidson window may never have been a countdown to war. But it was a warning about vulnerability, and that vulnerability has deepened rather than disappeared. The danger is not that deterrence collapses. It is that it fails in ways we fail to anticipate. – The National Interest
Europe
The European Union is investigating a French plan to subsidize the construction and operation of six new nuclear reactors by Electricite de France. – Wall Street Journal
Arms maker Rheinmetall said it struck a deal with Boeing’s pointing triangle Australian business to offer autonomous combat aircraft for the German armed forces, bolstering its airspace capabilities. – Wall Street Journal
As President Donald Trump on Tuesday amped up criticism of NATO countries for refusing to do more in the Iran war, European allies were doubling down on their pushback. – Washington Post
King Charles III will travel to the United States for an official state visit in April, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Tuesday. The trip — which the king will carry out on behalf of the British government — had been expected, but it was cast in doubt as tensions between the longtime allies rose over the war in Iran in recent weeks. – New York Times
If there is one thing American and European leaders agree on at a fractured time in trans-Atlantic relations, it’s that Europe has spent much too little, for far too long, on its own defense. – New York Times
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed migration and closer cooperation on returns, border security and tackling people smuggling networks in a meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa in London, said Starmer’s office on Tuesday. – Reuters
Hundreds of Serbian students clashed with police on Tuesday during a protest against a police search of University of Belgrade offices, which inflamed tensions between authorities and anti-government activists that have flared up regularly for more than a year. – Reuters
Irish nationalist militants were likely behind the hijacking and placing of an improvised explosive device in a food delivery vehicle that was ordered to drive to a Northern Irish police station before the device was made safe, police said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany party has used surging energy prices to revive its longstanding call for Berlin to turn once more to Russia for cheap energy after scoring some of its best results in two state elections this month. – Reuters
U.S. conservatives have long pointed to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as proof that a Western leader can crack down on immigration, defy global institutions and wage war on “woke” liberalism – and still win elections. – Reuters
More than two dozen ships sanctioned for being part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet have passed through UK waters since Prime Minister Keir Starmer last week authorised the military to detain vessels used by Moscow to export oil. – Reuters
France did not allow Israel to use its air space to transport American weapons to be used in the war against Iran, a Western diplomat and two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. – Reuters
A foreign national has turned himself in to Czech police, admitting that he threw petrol bombs at the building of a Russian culture centre in Prague last week, police said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Estonia and Latvia detected foreign drone activity near their borders with Russia overnight, their militaries said, while Finnish border guards said they found a drone near theirs early on Tuesday, in the latest incidents to unsettle NATO’s eastern flank. – Reuters
Leaders in the Czech Republic and Poland reacted with dismay on Tuesday to a report claiming that the Hungarian government intervened on behalf of Moscow to seek relief from the European Union sanctions. – Bloomberg
Poland has no plans to relocate its Patriot air defense systems to the Middle East, Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said Tuesday after reports that the U.S. had informally requested a transfer. – Politico
Earle Mack writes: The U.S. is protecting the arteries of global commerce — the energy supplies that power economies, the maritime routes that keep international trade alive and in particular the Strait of Hormuz, through which Britain draws much of its own oil. America is doing what it has done for generations: bearing the greatest burden to defend the free world. Now it is time for Britain to prove that the special relationship still means something. […] If Britain wishes to keep sharing the protection of that system, it must also share its responsibilities. No fair-weather friends. – The Hill
Africa
Rwanda has found a David versus Goliath way to push back against newly imposed U.S. financial sanctions: The East African country is threatening to stop protecting an Exxon Mobil natural-gas project from Islamist insurgents just as soaring energy prices top President Trump’s list of concerns. – Wall Street Journal
As the world’s largest shipping operators suspend Gulf transit amid the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran, many are redirecting vessels around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope. – New York Times
Senegal’s president has approved a bill doubling the maximum prison term for same-sex sexual acts to 10 years and criminalising any efforts to promote homosexuality, allowing it to take effect, according to an official statement. – Reuters
Explosions heard on Tuesday in Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, were caused by an electrical short-circuit at an ammunition store in a military camp, an army spokesperson said. – Reuters
A parliamentary public hearing on proposed constitutional amendments that could extend the term of Zimbabwe’s 83-year-old president descended into chaos on Tuesday, underscoring rising tensions over the contentious changes. – Associated Press
The Americas
Argentina has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, its presidential office said in a statement on Tuesday, following a push from the Trump administration for allies to do so. – Reuters
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that Vice President Geraldo Alckmin will again be his running mate in an October election, reprising the 2022 winning ticket as the leftist leader seeks a fourth non-consecutive term. – Reuters
Paraguay’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Carlos Fernandez, has resigned from his role at the request of President Santiago Pena, the president’s chief of staff Javier Gimenez said on Tuesday. – Reuters
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said there will have to be a transition phase in Venezuela and the country will need free and fair elections, though he added that there needs to be patience until that point is reached. – Reuters
As the war in Iran rattles global oil markets, Brazil is partially shielded by a decades-old buffer against shocks that is both cheap and emits less pollution that causes climate change: Tens of millions of drivers here can choose between filling their tank with 100% sugarcane-based ethanol or a gasoline blend that contains 30% of biofuel. – Associated Press
North America
There’s a small place where Canada and the United States can still be best friends. This place is largely unaffected by the political turmoil that has occurred since President Trump was re-elected: the unraveling of decades of closeness between the allies driven by threats to annex a “51st state” and impose punitive tariffs on Canadian industry. – New York Times
Armed men mounted further attacks in Haiti’s breadbasket Artibonite region on Tuesday, days after a gang’s weekend assault in the area of Jean-Denis left some 70 people dead, according to human rights groups and local residents. – Reuters
A Russian-flagged tanker carrying some 700,000 barrels of crude docked in Cuba’s Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, shipping data showed, marking the first significant oil delivery to the island since President Donald Trump’s administration cut off its fuel supply. – Reuters
Haiti’s government announced new austerity measures on Tuesday as the war in Iran disrupts critical oil supplies and drives up prices worldwide. – Associated Press
Cubans accustomed to shopping with wads of bills stuffed into bags because of skyrocketing inflation will get some relief Wednesday when two new high-denomination banknotes go into circulation. – Associated Press
United States
A U.S. firm has finally acquired one of the world’s largest cobalt producers not already in China’s hands, marking a significant win for the Trump administration. – Wall Street Journal
The diaries of an aide to former Chinese leader Mao Zedong can remain at Stanford University, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday, resolving a long-running case that was closely watched for the possibility the materials would be returned to China and suppressed. – Wall Street Journal
President Trump and Colombia’s left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, have had a volatile relationship, with Mr. Trump shifting from calling Mr. Petro a “sick man” and a “drug leader,” to later, “great!” – New York Times
Republican Senator Bernie Moreno said on Tuesday he will introduce legislation next month to toughen a U.S. government ban on Chinese automakers from entering the American market, and encouraged other countries to follow suit. – Reuters
An online government portal to provide refunds on tariffs struck down by the US Supreme Court will handle claims for about 63% of 53 million import entries at issue when it first launches, according to a new court filing. – Bloomberg
The Trump administration is organizing an international summit focused on countering the left-wing movement antifa and other groups, three sources familiar with the matter said, an effort that highlights the shift in the US government’s counterterrorism priorities over the past year. – Times of Israel
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that purports to limit mail-in voting, though critics say the move will almost certainly be challenged in court on constitutional grounds. – Cyberscoop
Bret Stephens writes: For Americans, especially those who often oppose the administration, the question is whether our distaste for this president should get the better of our strategic judgments about the threats Iran poses. In The Wall Street Journal recently, the lawyer David Boies, a prominent Democrat, noted that if Trump had failed to act, “his successor would have been left with an even more dangerous choice than his predecessors left him. Three or four years from now, the Iranian missiles now hitting Iran’s neighbors could be hitting Berlin or London, perhaps even New York or Washington.” […] “You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you” is a line widely attributed to Leon Trotsky. If that’s the case — and history tells us it is — shouldn’t you be interested in winning it, too? – New York Times
Cybersecurity
Anthropic said on Wednesday it would sign an agreement to share its economic index data with the Australian government to help track artificial intelligence adoption across the economy, and its impact on workers and jobs. – Reuters
Social media platform TikTok, controlled by China’s ByteDance, is seeking approval from the Brazilian central bank to operate as a lending and payments fintech, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. – Reuters
Mayor Zohran Mamdani is permitting city government employees and agencies to use TikTok again, reversing a ban his predecessor enacted out of data security concerns. – Politico
Defense
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the coming days of the war with Iran will be decisive, adding that the U.S. would “negotiate with bombs” until Tehran relinquishes its ambitions. – Wall Street Journal
U.S. military commanders were worried in recent years that the bases they were using in Saudi Arabia and other Persian Gulf states would be vulnerable to Iranian missile and drone attacks. They proposed stationing key aircraft during a conflict in the western part of the kingdom, a safer distance away from Tehran. – Wall Street Journal
Republicans in Congress who have so far refused to call top Trump administration officials to testify about the war in Iran have scheduled a budget hearing with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for late April, his first public testimony since the start of the attacks. – New York Times
A third US aircraft carrier strike group is heading to the Middle East as military operations against Iran continue, according to a US official familiar with the matter, after the Navy’s flagship carrier left the region for repairs. – Bloomberg
Editorial: As the French statesman Georges Clemenceau observed: “Generals are always preparing to fight the last war.” But with new technology and rising threats, that mindset guarantees failure. In war, as in other matters of intelligence and national security, most failures are failures of imagination. American military might has been on full display abroad, with successes in Venezuela and Iran, but at home, U.S. policy must also reflect newfound realities. The U.S. should learn from Israel and Ukraine in developing counter-drone technology, and it must recognize that enemies are willing and able to wage wars on American soil in ghastly, and heretofore unimagined, ways. – Washington Examiner
Brynn Tannehill writes: Washington needs to reconsider using hardened shelters for its nuclear-capable bombers, as costly as they are. At a minimum, it should follow the Ukrainian example and place its vital military assets under other sorts of protective shelters, or even netting. And it should be acquiring and fielding interceptor drones much faster—again, just as Ukraine has so successfully done against Shaheds. Four years into the war in Ukraine, the United States is unprepared for the radically new form of warfare that has been raging there. The swarms over Barksdale suggest how high the price could be. – The Atlantic